mikethair
Forum Replies Created
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We were successful in producing a balm using Candelila Wax, Coconut Oil, and Black Seed Oil. To these oils, we added high-quality essential oils.
In our factory, we made and sold these balms to brands globally under their own labels.
We experimented with oil/wax ratios of between 10-30 %.
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<div>You may need to do a bit more work on the formulation. If any number, even if only very small, are breaking during demolding, then this is a warning sign that the formulation needs more work.
</div><div>At the same time, look at your process. When scaling up to larger numbers, all variables need to be constant. And you need to identify these variables. For example, the type of surface where the filled trays are placed. This should be a constant. We liked to use a wooden surface for cooling. If some trays are cooled on a wooden bench top and others on a granite bench top, you will see differences.
Also, record the ambient temperature of the room when molding.
I use an Excel template to record all parameters for every batch.
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Yes indeed, significant water is lost during the curing process.
We produced 1,000’s of private label soap bars during 2009 - 2023 for various brands globally. Our approach was to use a purpose-built cure room with a controlled temperature and relative humidity.
The temperature and relative humidity was recorded daily by our QC Manager. And with such strict control we were able to control the finished size and weight of the cold process soap bars we manufactured. Thus, every batch was within the specs agreed with customer.
I should also mention that before signing any agreement, we produced test bars for the customer.
Kind regards,
Dr Mike Thair
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Soap bar specs should be clearly specified in the agreement you have signed with the Contact Manufacturer. Also, in the contact there should be details on the samples, including weight and sizes, provided before full production begins.
I was the co-founder of a company producing soap bars for brands globally. And it is in a win-win to get these specs correct. It worked for us over 15 years.
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At the end of the day it’s a decision you will need to make yourself based on your own criteria, and you must be prepared to justify your decision.
I was the co-founder and Master Formulator for our skincare manufacturing company for 20 years. We manufactured and exported to brands globally. And I never relied on third-parties to make these sorts of decisions.
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An anhydrous clay mask consisting mainly of
kaolin and french green clay for personal use where you add water in a
small amount of clay when using, would not be at any the risk of
microbial growth if it is not stored wet after use.I developed may of these products for the global brands I formulated for, and never had any issues with the various cosmetics compliance authorities, or the products themselves.
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The proposed MoCRA will change all of this.
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I’m watching this with GREAT interest.
The manufacturing company I founded and managed (I was the Master Formulator) for 20 years manufactured for brands globally. A lot of these brands we manufactured for were based in the EU, therefore we adopted the EU standards in all manufacturing and all compliance.
BTW, our factories/businesses were located in Viet Nam and Malaysia.
Manufacturing under the EU standards made it very easy for us to manufacture and export to US brands from our Viet Nam and Malaysia facilities. From our perspective of the EU standards, the requirements in the US were almost non-existent.
Therefore, I will be watching very closely how the MoCRA rolls out. Having setup from scratch, and run a manufacturing facility for 20 years under EU guidelines, I see this as a huge challenge for many US based manufacturers.
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It’s all to do with the fragrance formulation and the right balance of top, middle, and base notes.
I formulated and manufactured various room sprays for brands globally, and never had problems.
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We saponified coconut oil for our shampoo, and the pH was around 9. This provided both stability and functionality. At pH 9.0 we had zero microbial issues.
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From my experience, it’s all to do with temperature. My approach was to set up an Excel spreadsheet and record data on various temperature parameters.
Also, look at the lid on/off after the balm is poured, the temperature, and type of the surface the filled balm containers are resting on as they are poured.
There is no quick answer/advice as we are unaware of the conditions you are working in.
You will need to experiment, but with the Excel data you should be able to solve the problem….we did.
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I’m an Australian, and we co-founded a skincare manufacturing company in Malaysia that we run for 20 years, and in March 2023 I retired. What we did was set up and run our manufacturing facility as GMP Certified. This required annual and periodic inspections of our facility by departmental officers.
The advantage of adopting the GMP Certified mindset was that it required the adoption of all the points identified by the original poster here. I would recommend this to anyone going down the MoCRA route.
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The difference between a “Cosmetic Chemist and Formulator” is nonsense. Importantly, what you do require is a talent for formulating. In my opinion, with talent, you either have it or you don’t. And if you do not have the talent then no amount of academic qualifications will make any difference.
I have worked globally as a formulator for around three decades. And yes, I do have a PhD, MSc, and BSc. But in my opinion, I always had a natural talent for formulating, and my academic qualifications add little to my formulation talent.
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For two decades my company formulated and manufactured liquid castile made by saponifying extra virgin olive oil. We produced wholesale quantities of products that were exported globally. And in twenty years never had any issues.
I should also mention that we were not hobbyists / DIY and were GMP Certified.
But care needs to be taken with selecting the “scrub” component of the formulation.
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I’m an Australian skincare Master Formulator with more than two decades
of experience as the co-founder and Managing Director of a certified GMP
cosmetics manufacturing facility.I have formulated and manufactured all-natural skincare for brands
globally.I have also provided private consulting to new and established cosmetics
companies globally.I like to stick to my own lane. This includes formulating using only
100% renewable plant ingredients that can be traced back to their
source; artisan-made using time-proven traditional methods, and full
cosmetic regulatory compliance.Dr Mike Thair
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My approach would be to have your manufacturer produce a test batch and have a group of your customers try the product.
Yes indeed, logic tells us that fragrance would attract bees, but it has never been an issue with products we have manufactured for 20+ years.
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That well may be the case. But after two decades of no microbial issues being detected by our in-house microbial testing and the testing done by our international Private Label customers and cosmetics authorities in their respective countries, I’m comfortable.
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Not in our experience.
We manufactured these products for two decades and exported them globally to various brands under our Private Label activities. Zero contamination was detected in the testing done by these global brands and their associated labs, and samples tested my cosmetic compliance authorities.
Our production facility included an on-site microbial lab. And in two decades, there was zero microbial contamination detected in retained samples tested for up to two years after manufacture and beyond.
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It would be impractical to have Amazon and
Etsy require companies to submit
PCT test results before a product can be listed. Would Amazon and Etsy have the qualified staff to make sense of these test results? And the extra workload for Amazon and Etsy would be enormous.A far more practical and cost-effective approach would need to be developed.
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Yes indeed….provides a fair bit of wriggle room for the unscrupulous.
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Yes, but the great formulations from a talented formulator will have the heads of big companies sit up and take notice. So, my advice is to let your formulations do the talking for you.
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What do you mean by”What is the practice in public/group bathrooms?“
It’s not a term I’m familiar with.
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Yes, I would agree. For the compliance efforts required, brands can leverage other areas to gain more brand traction and increase revenue.
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<div>Hi PhilGeis, within the ASEAN Cosmetics Guidelines there is no specific reference to the use of recycled containers. Which, in my opinion, is fair enough. Any container must comply with the GMP standards.</div><div>
As a company, we went into this in great detail. But at the end of the day, the cost to our brands of returning the used containers, our cost of cleaning to meet the cosmetics compliance requirements, plus the carbon costs, it was just not economically viable or environmentally friendly.
The other option was to supply local and international brands with bulk containers (we found 5 Kg the optimum size) where customer bottles could be refilled in-store. But again, the cosmetics compliance authorities, both local and international, had issues with this. There were two main objections: (1) in-bottle contamination of the customer-returned bottles being refilled and (2) contamination during the filling by in-store staff.
The academic paper you cited (https://www.mdpi.com/2079-9284/9/2/27) gives some insight into how these objections could be mitigated, but most of these are impractical.
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There is no one regulation covering all countries. For example, under the ASEAN Cosmetics Guidelines combined with the terms/conditions of our GMP Licence, there is no capacity for refilling returned bottles. And at the same time, our QC Manager asked the question during our regular compliance inspections.
Similar applies to other countries.
The best approach is to raise the question with the regulatory authority in your own country.
And the reason I employed a QC Manager to sort out these issues. It is not a good idea to have bottle recycling raised and rejected during a GMP compliance inspection.